I don't have memories of my own mother going through menopause, and it wasn't until I started writing this blog that we ever really talked about the subject. Who does have these conversations about menopause with their mothers?

My mother related how her hot flashes and dizzy spells were so bad that she would faint. I never knew that. Nor did I know, until recently, that she was on HRT for over 20 years. And what's more, my maternal grandmother was one of the unlucky 10% or so of women whose hot flashes persisted for decades. My grandmother was into her 90s and would still get the occasional hot flash.

My hairdresser told me stories about her own mother, who had long, beautiful hair down to her waist. "But one day she just cut it all off," said my hairdresser. "My father hated her short hair, but she refused to grow it long again." The reason wasn't clear to my hairdresser until years later. "It was menopause," she said, as she cut my own unruly locks. "She had hot flashes and couldn't bear the long hair. It made her too hot."

Another friend remembers her mother sticking her head in the freezer and wondered what that was all about. Now she knows.

About The Author

Christina Boufis

Christina Boufis is an award-winning health and medical writer. When not chasing down the latest medical study, she's busy keeping up with her husband and their 9-year-old son. The upside to midlife transition? Insomnia is a boon for meeting deadlines.

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